Abstract

Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are human somatic cells that have been reprogrammed to a pluripotent state. There are several hurdles to be overcome before iPS cells can be considered as a potential patient-specific cell therapy, and it will be crucial to characterize the developmental potential of human iPS cell lines. As a research tool, iPS-cell technology provides opportunities to study normal development and to understand reprogramming. iPS cells can have an immediate impact as models for human diseases, including cancer.

Author affiliations

1. Shin-ichi Nishikawa is at the Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology, Center for Developmental Biology, RIKEN, 2-2-3 Minatojima-Minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0047, Japan.
   Email: nishikawa@cdb.riken.jp
2. Robert A. Goldstein and Concepcion R. Nierras are at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 120 Wall Street, 19th floor, New York, New York 10005, USA.
   Email: rgoldstein@jdrf.org; Email: cnierras@jdrf.org

Published online 13 August 2008

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